Resources

Associations and Organizations

The Emergency Services Sector is a system of prevention, protection, preparedness, response, and recovery elements that forms the Nation's first line of defense for preventing and mitigating the risks presented by all hazards events. As the first line of defense and primary protector of the public and – in the direct context of national CIKR protection efforts, the other CIKR sectors – the loss or incapacitation of ESS capabilities would clearly impact the Nation's security, public safety, and morale.

The Partnership for Critical Infrastructure Security (PCIS) enables asset owners and operators to collectively work as a single voice to identify and mitigate strategic security issues affecting the critical sectors. The PCIS, through the membership of the individual sector coordinating councils (SCCs), is the collective body of the 16 private critical sectors as identified by the President in HSPD 7. The PCIS serves as the collective gateway into each of the recognized sectors through the elected chair positions of each sector.

SAFECOM was formed in 2001 after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 as part of the Presidential E-Government Initiative to improve public safety interoperability, allowing emergency responders to communicate effectively before, during, and after emergencies and disasters. SAFECOM’s mission is to improve designated emergency response providers’ inter-jurisdictional and inter-disciplinary emergency communications interoperability through collaboration with emergency responders across Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial governments, and international borders.

A JOINT REPORT BY THE TREATMENT ADVOCACY CENTER AND NATIONAL SHERIFFS' ASSOCIATION

As a consequence of the failed mental illness treatment system, an increasing number of individuals with untreated serious mental illness are encountering law enforcement officers, sometimes with tragic results. “Justifiable homicides,” in which an individual is killed by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, may occur when criminals are being pursued, as in a bank robbery, or when an officer is threatened with a weapon, in other situations.

New NIJ Guide for Ballistic-Resistant Body Armor

NIJ has released a Selection and Application Guide to Ballistic-Resistant Body Armor that summarizes knowledge about body armor gained from NIJ-funded and other research over the last 13 years. This guide provides law enforcement, correctional and public safety officers with a better understanding of how body armor works and how it complies with the NIJ Standard, and provides guidance for purchasing and maintenance policies for NIJ-compliant body armor.

K9 units have been used in civilian, law enforcement and military applications for almost as long as dogs have been domesticated. Many who work with K9s in a variety of capacities understand that it is a tragic oversight that these selfless and loyal soldiers, officers, rescuers and partners are often overlooked by the communities they serve as well as the agencies and organizations that employ them. No human counterpart goes home with their partner, becomes part of the family or is expected to give up their life for their partner, but K9s do this daily, often without any more recognition than any other fixed asset. This document is an attempt to create a protocol to bring some level of uniformity in honoring these trusted companions when they finally end their vigilant watch over our lives and freedoms. These protocols are guidelines only.